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2014 Offensive/Defensive changes

Craig7835

Well-Known Member
We all know that Alabama will be running a West Coast type One Back offense now that the Kiff of Doom is the OC,but what other teams has made some changes to their offense & defense for the upcoming season?
 

purple112

Go Berzerk
Uncle Rico making ND
-more multiple
-more attacking
-hopefully more competent

On offense it's back to Kelly calling plays. That means no 5 wide on 3/4 and short and more Kelly-esque now that he has a decent QB.
 

bruin228

Well-Known Member
NCAA Moderator
Utah hired former Mizzou OC Dave Christensen. Pac-12 should be the most entertaining conference offense wise.
 

bjc

Butt Naked Wonda
Due to the defenses in the Big 12 having adapted to many of the offenses that dominated the league (and, have started dominating/frequenting CFB for some time), Okie Lite will be using TEs more often. Same plays and concepts but out of 11 personnel, sometimes 21 personnel as well. We will continue to run a lot of our 30 and 20 personnel.

So not really a change of offense but change of some formations. I'd say it will be the exact same... With a little more 11 personnel, lol.
 
Due to the defenses in the Big 12 having adapted to many of the offenses that dominated the league (and, have started dominating/frequenting CFB for some time), Okie Lite will be using TEs more often. Same plays and concepts but out of 11 personnel, sometimes 21 personnel as well. We will continue to run a lot of our 30 and 20 personnel.

So not really a change of offense but change of some formations. I'd say it will be the exact same... With a little more 11 personnel, lol.

Assuming you have good TEs available, I think 11 personnel is the best possible grouping to base your offense out of. So versatile.
 

bjc

Butt Naked Wonda
I don't disagree, but when people say "good TE" in an offense that uses a lot of "11 personnel" (UNC, Texas Tech and how they use their star TEs) they're actually meaning "exceptional TE" as if they grow on trees. We don't really use our TEs as pass-catchers but rather as a 6th OL, or at least we did last year. Watching them practice, I might have seen our TE run a route, but I expect them to be used similar to how we used them last year.
 

goblue96

Disney and Curling Expert
Michigan going to actually attempt to run an offense that doesn't revolve around the QB receiving the ball, running around like idiot, and hoping something breaks down in the defense.
 

bruin228

Well-Known Member
NCAA Moderator
TCU is going to the HUNH next year. Thought they've been running that but whatever.
 

bjc

Butt Naked Wonda
TCU is going to the HUNH next year. Thought they've been running that but whatever.
TCU is going air raid. They hired Doug Meachem, who was on staff at okie state while Holgy and Monken were here. He was hired away from Houston.

OU, TCU, TTU, WVU, OSU, and now Ioa State will run offenses derived from the air raid or have coaches from the tree. Texas will probably be a clusterfuck with their fifty OCs, Kansas will be running Rice's offense I believe, and Baylor isn't really air raid at all. Kansas state is interesting but about as far away from the air raid as you can get these days.
 

Craig7835

Well-Known Member
TCU is going air raid. They hired Doug Meachem, who was on staff at okie state while Holgy and Monken were here. He was hired away from Houston.

OU, TCU, TTU, WVU, OSU, and now Ioa State will run offenses derived from the air raid or have coaches from the tree. Texas will probably be a clusterfuck with their fifty OCs, Kansas will be running Rice's offense I believe, and Baylor isn't really air raid at all. Kansas state is interesting but about as far away from the air raid as you can get these days.

Baylor runs a Multiple offense that blends old school with new school. They can go from Spread looks to Pro Style in a heartbeat.
 

bjc

Butt Naked Wonda
Baylor runs a Multiple offense that blends old school with new school. They can go from Spread looks to Pro Style in a heartbeat.
I'd disagree. They are as new-age as it comes in my opinion. The only "pro style" stuff they do is go under center, either empty or 4 wide. They are a blast to watch with all-22 video access.
 

bjc

Butt Naked Wonda
They are more spread than Oregon. If by spread you mean how wide the splits are and what kind of personnel groupings they use. I'm excited to watch their offense in 2014.
 

BasinBictory

OUT with the GOUT
USC under Sark is looking to become more uptempo and emulate the rest of college football, instead of the more deliberate, Qb-under-center pro-style offenses they've been running since pretty much forever. Hopefully that translates into being able to recruit the more athletic type QBs that seem to be coming out of the high school ranks these days instead of hoping to get lucky with one of those once-a-decade type pocket passer talents like an Andrew Luck.
 

BasinBictory

OUT with the GOUT
Didn't see much of UW last year so I can't say for certain. I do know that Cody Kessler has apparently held onto the starting QB job. He's not going to light the world on fire, but I did like his play last year, and I think that having that experience under his belt will make him a better QB this year. It was mentioned that Sark "wants to run about 120 plays on offense" a game :laughing: I know it's unrealistic, but I think the philosophy is not so much for the benefit of the offense, but rather the defense, to get accustomed to playing other high-tempo offenses that have permeated CFB. Greater substitutions on both sides of the ball will be the order of the day. You could see in a lot of USC's games last year that they seemed gassed toward the end and if they weren't already holding a commanding lead, they could be in trouble.
 
I'd disagree. They are as new-age as it comes in my opinion. The only "pro style" stuff they do is go under center, either empty or 4 wide. They are a blast to watch with all-22 video access.


Yeah. Briles is the spread master. He definitely incorporates some Air Raid concepts and principles, but the Art Briles offense is a separate animal.

Bowling Green will also be running it, having hired Dino Babers from Eastern Illinois.
 
Didn't see much of UW last year so I can't say for certain. I do know that Cody Kessler has apparently held onto the starting QB job. He's not going to light the world on fire, but I did like his play last year, and I think that having that experience under his belt will make him a better QB this year. It was mentioned that Sark "wants to run about 120 plays on offense" a game :laughing: I know it's unrealistic, but I think the philosophy is not so much for the benefit of the offense, but rather the defense, to get accustomed to playing other high-tempo offenses that have permeated CFB. Greater substitutions on both sides of the ball will be the order of the day. You could see in a lot of USC's games last year that they seemed gassed toward the end and if they weren't already holding a commanding lead, they could be in trouble.

Sarkisian's offense moved further away from the traditional USC offense each year he was at UW. Some of it was because of the personnel he had available to him, but I also think he had never really been exposed to spread and HUNH philosophies until he worked with some of the assistants he had at UW, specifically Eric Kiesau.

Last year, they ran a full time HUNH offense that took snaps exclusively out of the gun and pistol. The run game was based on inside zone and power. The passing concepts were quite a mix of different things, including a spread style screen game and some more traditional pro style quick game and downfield concepts. There was a sprinkling of Air Raid concepts too, but that would be more surprising if it weren't true; Air Raid concepts have become pretty ubiquitous everywhere now.

The offense was damn good.

I'd expect his USC offense will a mix of his traditional USC stuff and some of the newer stuff he ran at UW.
 

BasinBictory

OUT with the GOUT
And I think that fits Kessler's skill set perfectly. IIRC, in HS his team ran a spread style which capitalized on both his talents as a passer and a runner.

That was partly why Kiffin was so reluctant to name a starter at the beginning of last season. The scuttlebutt was that Kessler had far and away "won" the job in spring and summer, but his shortish stature and spread option pedigree were at odds with Kiffin's pro-style offense and the cannon-armed Max Wittek, who came from a Mater Dei program that had produced other such immobile pocket passers like Matt Leinart and Matt Barkley.

All in all - I'm pretty excited for the upcoming season, where last year was about the least excited I'd been for USC football since I began following them in junior high.
 

Craig7835

Well-Known Member
Didn't see much of UW last year so I can't say for certain. I do know that Cody Kessler has apparently held onto the starting QB job. He's not going to light the world on fire, but I did like his play last year, and I think that having that experience under his belt will make him a better QB this year. It was mentioned that Sark "wants to run about 120 plays on offense" a game :laughing: I know it's unrealistic, but I think the philosophy is not so much for the benefit of the offense, but rather the defense, to get accustomed to playing other high-tempo offenses that have permeated CFB. Greater substitutions on both sides of the ball will be the order of the day. You could see in a lot of USC's games last year that they seemed gassed toward the end and if they weren't already holding a commanding lead, they could be in trouble.

120 plays in one game? Please!!! He's absurd for saying some shit like that,however an up-tempo style offense is what the Trojans need. It worked wonders a Fresno State when they went from smash-mouth style to an up-tempo style. I'm curious as to whether Chris Petersen is going to run his Pro Style offense he had at Boise at Washington
 

BasinBictory

OUT with the GOUT
120 plays in one game? Please!!! He's absurd for saying some shit like that,however an up-tempo style offense is what the Trojans need. It worked wonders a Fresno State when they went from smash-mouth style to an up-tempo style. I'm curious as to whether Chris Petersen is going to run his Pro Style offense he had at Boise at Washington

I am rather interested to see what USC will look like on offense this year. The Trojans have been married to a pro-style type of offense since I can remember watching them, so a new look will definitely be novel. Smash-mouth or pro-style works fine when you have the superior personnel to run it. If you don't have NFL-caliber linemen, running backs, and especially a QB - you're probably going to struggle.
 
120 plays in one game? Please!!! He's absurd for saying some shit like that,however an up-tempo style offense is what the Trojans need. It worked wonders a Fresno State when they went from smash-mouth style to an up-tempo style. I'm curious as to whether Chris Petersen is going to run his Pro Style offense he had at Boise at Washington

Boise switched away from that offense a couple of years ago, after Byran Harsin went to Texas.

The last couple years BSU ran a pistol spread offense that was up and down. The guy who coordinated that offense, Robert Prince (?), wasn't hired by Petersen at UW or retained at BSU, so that should tell you somethin'.
 

Clintmartian

Stringer Bell
Boise switched away from that offense a couple of years ago, after Byran Harsin went to Texas.

The last couple years BSU ran a pistol spread offense that was up and down. The guy who coordinated that offense, Robert Prince (?), wasn't hired by Petersen at UW or retained at BSU, so that should tell you somethin'.

God I fuckin hated Robert Prince. Good riddance.
 

Clintmartian

Stringer Bell
Southdick was such a douche anyway (there's a good reason behind me saying that.) Always liked Hedrick though, decent feet, won't slide on 3rd down like Southwick did against Michigan State a couple years ago.
 

Craig7835

Well-Known Member
Southdick was such a douche anyway (there's a good reason behind me saying that.) Always liked Hedrick though, decent feet, won't slide on 3rd down like Southwick did against Michigan State a couple years ago.

Southwick was TERRIBLE!!!! He reminds me of Gary Nova from Rutgers,inconsistent & couldn't read a defense to save his life.Speaking of Rutgers,have they figured out what they gonna run yet?
 
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Sarkisian's offense moved further away from the traditional USC offense each year he was at UW. Some of it was because of the personnel he had available to him, but I also think he had never really been exposed to spread and HUNH philosophies until he worked with some of the assistants he had at UW, specifically Eric Kiesau.

Last year, they ran a full time HUNH offense that took snaps exclusively out of the gun and pistol. The run game was based on inside zone and power. The passing concepts were quite a mix of different things, including a spread style screen game and some more traditional pro style quick game and downfield concepts. There was a sprinkling of Air Raid concepts too, but that would be more surprising if it weren't true; Air Raid concepts have become pretty ubiquitous everywhere now.

The offense was damn good.

I'd expect his USC offense will a mix of his traditional USC stuff and some of the newer stuff he ran at UW.

Here is a story about this very topic. Sarkisian Changing USC Approach to O and D
 

bjc

Butt Naked Wonda
Oh god, another online X's and O's genius that believes simply calling the right play (in his mind I think the combination of plays makes the defense 'wrong' every time) will guarantee success. WHIPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

I basically tl;dr until I read that stick was a play for cover 2... wat

What does it take to be a writer on SBNation? lol
 
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Oh god, another online X's and O's genius that believes simply calling the right play (in his mind I think the combination of plays makes the defense 'wrong' every time) will guarantee success. WHIPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

I basically tl;dr until I read that stick was a play for cover 2... wat

What does it take to be a writer on SBNation? lol

Ian Boyd is one of the best writers on football Xs and Os out there.
 

Craig7835

Well-Known Member
Muschump IMO really doesn't know what he wants on offense.He went from the Ernhardt Perkins style-which failed-to the Brent Pease Murder Inc offense & now to a Spread offense.He has went with 3 different OC's in 4 years.Hell Spurrier & Meyer didn't have 3 different OC's in 3 years
 

PSUEagle

Well-Known Member
Penn State will probably be transitioning from a true one back offense to a more "multiple" grab bag that attempts to do more things in general. You'll likely see less Ace sets in favor of more Shotgun and Two Back looks. I'd also expect to see a lot more motion (particularly with TE's/H-Back's) along with some Wildcat looks, the latter of which Penn State has never run (to my memory). Finally, I'm guessing the offense will be less 12 personnel (2WR 2TE 1HB) centric in favor of 11 (3WR 1TE 1HB) and 10 (4WR 1 HB).

Defensively, PSU will move to more of a 4-2-5 style system in the mold of TCU. The main difference will be in the back end: Vanderbilt's defense played way more Cover 3 than PSU did the last couple years (we were primarily a Quarters/Cover 2 team out of a standard Over front). Bob Shoop (the new DC) did an awesome job with the Commodores defense the last few years: he's the coach I'm most excited about coming on board. I was very impressed with how well they tackled against Houston in their bowl game. They also did an excellent job against the screen game, which is obviously huge against a spread team. I'm confident that Penn State will be an elite defense within three years once he has his kids in place (and assuming he doesn't leave).

The more I watch of Vanderbilt's offense the last few years, the less I'm impressed, honestly. They do some good things in the running game like a really well developed Wildcat series (Power, Counter, Jet, Power Pass, etc) along with some creative stuff with unbalanced lines, but the passing game seemed underdeveloped and predictable. In addition, the playcalling felt out of sync to me: I never got the feeling that John Donovan (new OC) was trying to set things up so much as throwing shit at the wall and hoping it worked out. The good news though is that he has a future 1st round pick at QB, so that should help.

I heard someone recently compare James Franklin to Mack Brown. IMO, that's actually a good parallel (and not an insult): he'll play the role of baby kissing politician expertly and unite the fan base while locking down PA, NJ, and MD in recruiting, with PSU cherry picking nationally for the rest of their recruiting class. As long as he hires good assistants (and I like most of his staff) Penn State will always be a deep, talented team once the sanctions are over. That should be enough to guarantee that they are an annual B1G contender, something a program with their resources frankly should be.
 

Craig7835

Well-Known Member
Penn State will probably be transitioning from a true one back offense to a more "multiple" grab bag that attempts to do more things in general. You'll likely see less Ace sets in favor of more Shotgun and Two Back looks. I'd also expect to see a lot more motion (particularly with TE's/H-Back's) along with some Wildcat looks, the latter of which Penn State has never run (to my memory). Finally, I'm guessing the offense will be less 12 personnel (2WR 2TE 1HB) centric in favor of 11 (3WR 1TE 1HB) and 10 (4WR 1 HB).

Defensively, PSU will move to more of a 4-2-5 style system in the mold of TCU. The main difference will be in the back end: Vanderbilt's defense played way more Cover 3 than PSU did the last couple years (we were primarily a Quarters/Cover 2 team out of a standard Over front). Bob Shoop (the new DC) did an awesome job with the Commodores defense the last few years: he's the coach I'm most excited about coming on board. I was very impressed with how well they tackled against Houston in their bowl game. They also did an excellent job against the screen game, which is obviously huge against a spread team. I'm confident that Penn State will be an elite defense within three years once he has his kids in place (and assuming he doesn't leave).

The more I watch of Vanderbilt's offense the last few years, the less I'm impressed, honestly. They do some good things in the running game like a really well developed Wildcat series (Power, Counter, Jet, Power Pass, etc) along with some creative stuff with unbalanced lines, but the passing game seemed underdeveloped and predictable. In addition, the playcalling felt out of sync to me: I never got the feeling that John Donovan (new OC) was trying to set things up so much as throwing shit at the wall and hoping it worked out. The good news though is that he has a future 1st round pick at QB, so that should help.

I heard someone recently compare James Franklin to Mack Brown. IMO, that's actually a good parallel (and not an insult): he'll play the role of baby kissing politician expertly and unite the fan base while locking down PA, NJ, and MD in recruiting, with PSU cherry picking nationally for the rest of their recruiting class. As long as he hires good assistants (and I like most of his staff) Penn State will always be a deep, talented team once the sanctions are over. That should be enough to guarantee that they are an annual B1G contender, something a program with their resources frankly should be.

JFrank is gonna do great & I agree with you about the Vandy offense from last season,the passing game was very spotty,so whoever the QB is for the Lions,he'll make it work. Also I think they have the right personnel for 4-2-5
 

Craig7835

Well-Known Member
So Rutgers has ol' Ralph Fredgrin(did I spell his last name right) as the new OC. I think tge Scarlet Knights are gonna be a balanced WCO "grab bag" type team
 

bruin228

Well-Known Member
NCAA Moderator
I read that ND may be going back to the stuff that Kelly ran at Cincy. If true, Bart Scott
 

Rutgers Mike

Dr. Sad
So Rutgers has ol' Ralph Fredgrin(did I spell his last name right) as the new OC. I think tge Scarlet Knights are gonna be a balanced WCO "grab bag" type team
You spelt it wrong. I think you'll see a mix of personal between 21, 12 and 11 looks. As far as what they actually do? Power running and take shots downfield.
 
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